Cotton dispenser



I A. sQMc AIcs. JR

A 20, I943. COTTON DISPENSER Filed Nov. 14, 1940 ATTORNEY Patented Apr. 20, 1943 FFlCE COTTON DISPENSER Albert S. McKaig, Jr., New Orleans, La., assignor to Owens-Illinois Glass Company, a corporation of Ohio Application November 14, 1940, Serial No. 365,695

1 Claim.

My invention relates to a sanitary package for dispensing sterilized cotton or the like.

Sterilized cotton is now supplied to the medical profession and to the public in general, in many different forms, the most common one being roll cotton with paper between the different layers. Once a package is opened, it is very difficult to exclude foreign matter and dust usually collects in the package regardless where it is kept. Also in the case of roll cotton, it is sometimes tedious to get the correct amount of cotton needed.

I have provided a package in which the cotton will remain sterilized and may also be extracted with very little effort.

An object of the invention is to provide a glass or transparent container with a sufficiently abrupt shoulder to prevent a paper dispenser disk that is placed inside of the container from being withdrawn.

Another object of the invention is to provide a glass or transparent container with a dispenser disk securely held therein, having a quick opening cap or cover for the container so that when it is desired to remove sterilized cotton, the cover may be quickly removed. The cover, of course, will keep the contents of the package sanitary.

A further object is to provide a container made of glass or other transparent material for sterilized cotton so that the amount of cotton in the container may readily be ascertained at all times.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the container with the cap or cove removed.

Fig. 2 is a Vertical sectional view showing the dispenser disk in place and the cotton being withdrawn.

Fig. 3 is an elevational view partly in section with the outside cap or cover in place.

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the dispenser disk.

Referring to the drawing, a glass or transparent container is shown at l. The container l is composed of a body portion 2 having a relatively abrupt horizontal shoulder 3 formed at the top thereof and a reduced neck portion 4 formed above the shoulder 3.

Sterilized cotton 5, or the like, is placed in the body portion of the container I and a dispenser disk 6 is placed on top of the cotton and underneath the shoulder 3. The disk 6 is larger in diameter than the opening 1 in the neck 4 so that the disk must be of flexible material such as white sulphite paper in order that it may be inserted through the neck opening I. As shown at 8, the top of the disk 6 bears against the bottom of the shoulder 3 and is held in place by the cotton underneath the disk and by having its periphery snugly contacting the side wall of the body 2.

The dispenser disk has a centrally located expansible opening 9 with cuts or slits l0 extending radially outward from the opening. The cuts ll] form sections I I that will bend along lines l2 when the cotton is pulled through the opening 9. The cotton is packed with such a consistency that when it is desired to use some of it, tweezers, or the like, grasp the cotton through the opening 9 and a continued pull will bend the sections II on the lines l2, thereby allowing a larger amount of cotton to be dispensed than if it were just drawn through the normal opening 9. Likewise when the pull on the cotton is released, the sections II will spring back to a position as shown in Fig. 3, thereby covering the sterilized cotton left in the container with the exception of a small tuft I3 which may be used for a grip the next time cotton is to be dispensed. The pulling of the cotton forms a frictional grip of the disk 6 against the shoulder 3 as shown at 8.

Formed on the neck portion 4 of the container I, is a series of lugs M with which projections [5 of a cap l6 engage and securely hold the latter in place. A paper liner disk l'l placed inside of the cap I 6 bears on the top rim of the neck 4 and positively seals the container from any foreign matter while the container is not in use.

As pointed out before, the container 1 is made of glass or any other transparent material so that as the cotton is used, the amount left in the container can be readily seen at all times.

Modifications may be resorted to within the spirit and scope of the appended claim.

I claim:

fin sanitary package for sterilized cotton, comprising a transparent hollow container having a body portion, a horizontal shoulder formed at the top and inwardly of said body portion, a reduced neck and neck opening formed above said shoulder, a cover for said neck opening, and a flexible dispenser disk consisting solely of a single flat sheet of paper having a central opening with slits extending radially from the opening in said disk, said slits forming therebetween bendable resilient portions that reseal the contents of said package afte use, said disk being positioned in contact with the lower side of said shoulder and of such diameter as to frictionally engage the side of the body and be supported against said shoulder solely by friction.

ALBERT S. MCKAIG, JR. 

